Black Traditions
by ParanoidSleeper
Summary: Thanks to a miracle Regulus didn't die in that cave. Instead he set out on a journey to find a way to destroy the Horcruxes. When he returns home 15 years later, he is surprised to find that Sirius has returned home and turned his childhood home the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. And why does Sirius' goddaughter intrigue him so. Au OoTP Regulus/ femHarry (Hadriana).
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Unfortunately for me.**

**Chapter 1**

**15 years ago**

"Kreature, go, run… leave me. Destroy the locket." Cried the man as the inferi resting in the lake began to stir.

"MASTER REGULUS" called the decrepit creature dressed in a ratty old pillowcase.

"Go Kreature… that's an order" said the man now known as Regulus. The inferi began to mass together in a huge towering wave. Kreature reluctantly gave in to his master's orders. He collected the locket from the bottom of the large goblet located in the center of the small islet, that both the man and house elf rested on, and left with a loud CRACK.

The wave of inferi grew larger and larger with each disparaging second that Regulus lay there struggling to move. The potion, in which the locket had once rested, had weakened the once proud man and brought him to his knees in utter anguish. As the hoard of undead souls descended upon him, Regulus felt a small burst of warmth that gave him the drive and strength to call out one last spell.

"_Incendio_"

With that one word a great flame erupted from the tip of the ebony black wand clutched tightly in Regulus' hand. The fire rushed towards the approaching inferi and consumed them in a burst of light. As he watched the demise of the creatures, Regulus felt darkness begin to creep upon his sight, and with a small smile, he succumbed.

Regulus woke to the soft sound of waves brushing upon the shore of the small island on which he rested. He looked around at the dark cave that once hid one of the Dark Lords most sinister secrets and felt relief.

He was alive. He was safe.

For now.

Regulus knew that if the Dark Lord ever found out about what he had done, he would be wishing the inferi had killed him. But now was not the time for him to think of such things.

In his perusal of the cave, Regulus spotted the boat that had carried him and Kreature to the islet. He slowly got up and made his way to the small dingy boat. As he stepped into the boat he felt the latent magic ingrained into the very wood of the raft come to life to carry the boat safely out of the cave.

The journey out of the cave was a short one. When the boat landed, and Regulus stood on land once more, he knelt and began to thank Mother Magic for her help. Regulus knew that it could have only been Magic who saved him from his most certain death. Mother Magic had always been there for him. She had comforted him when the pressures of being a Black began to be too much for him. She had been there for him when his elder brother had abandoned him to their awful mother. And she had been there for him when he had been forced by his family to serve the Dark Lord.

Oh how he regretted never standing up for himself against his family. Regulus first discovered the existence of Mother Magic when he had retreated to the family library during one of his mothers and brothers famous spats. There he had found an ancient text on the old ways that described the existence of magic and its conscience. It described magic as a being that gave birth the magic users and magical creatures, and how she was to be revered and loved for her gifts to wizarding kind. After having read this, Regulus craved to know more. He searched through book after book until he found what he was looking for. Every wizarding family used to follow the old ways and taught them to the muggleborns. However, there were some rights that the muggleborns could not learn because they require the blood of a magical being that had been sired by other magical beings. Because of this the muggleborns began to feel jealous of the purebloods and had the old ways made illegal on punishment of death. With that the old ways had slowly began to die out and the wizarding world forgot about their Mother Magic.

After having found out about Mother Magic, Regulus had begun to practice a few of the tradition and rituals that paid tribute to Magic. Although he wished to, Regulus could not perform all of the traditions or rituals since they required behavior that his family would never approve of and more participants. Before every meal he would silently ask for Mother Magic's blessing on the food. He would wear a bracelet that had been soaked in his own blood to show his devotion to Magic. He would refuse to cut his hair and rather wore it long in a horsetail. By the time he reached the age of twenty his hair had reached mid back length. He would comb his hair with an ancestral comb that had been soaked in his own blood in search of Mother Magic's blessing for his growing magical power. These were but a few traditions, not including the rituals that he observed on the pagan holidays. After each prayer, blessing and ritual Regulus could feel Magic reach out in love and comfort, giving him what he always wanted, a mothers love.

Today he knelt on the abandoned shore and thanked Mother Magic for the small blessing she gave him to help in his escape from the inferi. Magic smiled upon her favorite son who acknowledged her and thanked her for each and every blessing that he received. She knew that her children no longer believed in her and slowly year-by-year her children began to die out. With out the blessings she gave them, generation after generation would slowly loose their magic. But, once she gave them their original blessing of magic, Mother magic could not give more unless they preyed and adhered to the old ways as her beloved Regulus did. Because he prayed to her and wore the blood soaked bracelet, she could give him a small blessing when he really needed it, like she had done in the cave. She hoped that one day all of the wizarding world would believe in her again, just like Regulus did.

After having given thanks to Mother Magic, Regulus once again felt weary and lie down in the grass. Unlike in the cave this sleep came slowly and with dreams.

_Kreature stood in the hallways of 12 Grimmauld Place with the locket. The dark décor stood as contrast to the silver of the locket._

_Kreature set the locket down and began to send a spell at the locket. A bright red light sailed across the empty space between the two and struck the locket, sending the deceptively delicate object fling through the air. It landed a fair distance away from its original position._

_The house elf stared at the locket in shock. He had sent one of the most destructive spells he knew at it, and yet there it lay, without a scratch._

_He shook of the shock and began to send spell after spell at the annoying thing. But it continued to lie there completely unharmed as if to mock him. Kreature began to despair. If he could not destroy the locket he would not be able to carry out his master Regulus' final orders. With that thought Kreature grabbed a large butcher knife from the kitchen and attempted to stab the evil thing, only to have the blade shatter into several pieces._

_Kreature fell to his knees and began to weep. As his tears dried, the house elf got up and collected the locket and trudged to his small cupboard where he lived and hid the necklace. Once the locket had been hidden, the house elf got up and positioned himself in front of a wall and began to violently hit his large head against the wall. In his punishment he broke his nose, flattening it in a reminder of his failure._

Regulus woke with a start. He sat up with his knees curled into himself and laid his head in his hands. He had forgotten.

"Damn. How could I have forgotten? No matter how many of them I find, without a way to destroy them Kreature and my efforts will be worthless." He moaned.

'The only way to destroy a Horcrux is to stab it with Basilisk venom.' Basilisks are so rare that no one had seen one in almost a century, and any venom that had been collected from it had long since been used.

Regulus despaired at his failure. 'Now Voldemort will never be defeated. Not without Basilisk venom' he thought. Magic felt her sons despair and reached out to him and wrapped him in her arms. Though none could hear her voice Magic spoke to her son.

"Do not despair, young one. There are still many of the serpents yet. You need only look. Journey my son. Journey to the Americas there you will find what you seek."

Regulus felt Mother Magic comfort him. Although he could not here her, he felt her encourage him and felt a need to journey to the new world. He knew that Mother Magic had once again helped him.

"Thank you, Mother. I will not fail you." And with that the wizard set out on a journey that would take him far away from what he knew with naught but his wand and the clothes on his back.

**A/N: okay, so this is a new story and it is a fem harryxregulus story. there won't be any explicit content because i completely and totally suck at it. I will try to update this one often, just don't be surprised if a long time passes before i do. I will also try to update all my other stories and maybe write longer chapters for those as well.**

**Thank you **

**R&R plz!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter it belongs to J.K. Rowling**

**Chapter 2**

**4 years ago**

10-year-old Hadriana Potter walked slowly down the corridor at 4 Privet Drive towards the kitchen in early May. Ana, as she liked to be called, was a scrawny child. She had thick, silky, black hair that hung down to her waist. But, her most notable feature was her bright emerald green eyes that seemed to look right at your very soul. Ana lived with her Aunt, Uncle, and cousin. They all hated her and tried to subjugate her at every chance. They made her wear ugly round glasses, despite the fact that she didn't need them, simply because they couldn't stand looking into her eyes directly. The only clothes that she was allowed to wear were her obese cousin's massive cast-offs. Ana had to use a rope to keep her pants up and always had to cut off the bottom of the pants until they looked like they could have been shorts on her cousin. Ana always hated pants, they made her look like a boy. But most of all she hated them because she felt like she wasn't meant to wear pants. In fact, Ana felt as if she wasn't meant to wear anything she saw other people wearing on the streets.

On her way to the kitchen, Ana clutched one letter out of the bunch tightly in her hand. Seeing the letter addressed to her among her relatives' bills and postcards gave her hope. Hope that someone knew about what her relatives were doing to her, how they treated her. They even knew she slept in the cupboard under the stairs.

Ana slipped the letter into her cupboard on the way to delivering the post to her Uncle Vernon. Uncle Vernon was a very heavyset man with a bushy mustache; Ana thought he looked like a walrus. Vernon was also a hotheaded man; it took very little to upset him. Even the smallest of imperfections could send him into a rage.

Ana knew that if her Uncle Vernon ever found out about her letter he would be furious. The last time Ana got a letter; it had been from her elementary school congratulating her on being the top in her class. That day Ana had been sent to her cupboard without food and hadn't been let out for 3 whole months. In those months she was fed once a week and was only allowed out to go to the bathroom once every 2 days. After that, Ana did everything she could to get subpar grades, despite the fact that she was in fact much smarter than she allowed people to believe.

After giving Uncle Vernon the post, Ana took over frying the bacon from her Aunt Petunia. Her Aunt had burnt the bacon again and Ana knew that she would be blamed for it once again. Aunt Petunia was a skinny horse faced woman who could not cook or garden to save her life. That was why Ana did all the cooking, cleaning, and gardening in the Dursley household.

Sitting at the table was Ana's cousin Dudley. He, like his father, was rather fat. Ana likened him to a pig in an ugly blond wig. Ana couldn't really blame him for it, it wasn't Dudley's fault he turned out the way he did. When Ana's Aunt and Uncle did nothing but praise and spoil him rotten, they merely encouraged Dudley's bad behavior. Ana estimated that both her Uncle Vernon and Dudley would die early, due to the amount of cholesterol they consumed on a daily basis, or at least suffer from high blood pressure.

After breakfast, Ana was allowed a glass of water and a stale piece of bread before she was sent outside to cut the grass, pull the weeds and prune all of the rose bushes. The garden at 4 Privet Drive was in a word, stunning. All the neighbors were jealous of Petunia Dursley for her prize-winning garden. Every year there was a best looking garden contest in Little Whinging and every year Petunia Dursley submitted pictures of her garden, and every year the judges came by to look at it in admiration. And every year Petunia Dursley won the best looking garden award and the 10,000 pound prize. No one, not even the neighbors, knew that Petunia Dursley had never planted, pruned, or watered any of the plants in her garden. In fact she didn't even choose which flowers were planted there and their arrangement. Ana was the prize-winning gardener, and every year Petunia gave her 100 dollars to buy and grow the perfect garden. This summer was just like every other summer. This year Ana had planted yellow roses, daffodils, yellow iris, poppies, dahlias, and tiger lilies.

Ever since Ana had found out that her mothers name had been Lily, Ana had plated at least one kind of lily in the garden. With Aunt Petunia's disinterest in flowers and gardens, Ana was able to get away with it despite Aunt Petunia's strict no lilies rule. This year was no different, yet it was also very different. All the other years she had placed the lilies in the background as a mere accent to the other flowers, but this year Ana planned on having the tiger lilies be the star of the garden. Ana knew that this year would be different from all the others. The letter that she had received this morning was merely the beginning.

Since the beginning of the summer, strange things had been happening. First there was the snake that Ana had somehow spoken to and set free. Then only the other day Ana's hair had gone from the shaggy boy's haircut to waist length. All the knots that had built up from not being able to brush her hair had mysteriously disappeared. Aunt Petunia had been most upset at this and despite how many times she had taken the scissors to Ana's hair; it would grow back the very next day. There had also been all the cats that would follow her around and rub themselves against Ana's legs despite the fact that many of the cats were alley cats. But the strangest thing that happened to Ana, was a small tattoo like marking that appeared on the underside of her arm. It looked like 3 crescent moons intertwined. One opened upwards, one opened down to the right and one opened down to the left. Every time Ana touched it, she was filled with warmth she only ever felt when the strange things happened around her. The Dursleys always punished her for the strange things, and so Ana took to wearing the massive ratty long-sleeved shirts she had inherited from Dudley to cover it up.

After having finished all her chores in the garden and having cooked lunch, Ana was allowed to return to her cupboard under the stairs and wait until it was time to cook dinner. After Aunt Petunia had locked Ana in the cupboard, she waited half an hour before she finally read the letter. The letter was addressed very strangely.

_Miss H. Potter_

_The Cupboard Under the Stairs_

_4 Privet Drive_

_Little Whinging_

_Surrey_

Ana had never seen a letter addressed so specifically and yet not properly addressed. There was no postcode. Every other letter addressed to the Dursleys was addressed to 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging M34 1HP, Surrey. Ana had learnt from the librarian at her school that a postcode was very important when addressing a letter; otherwise the post office would not deliver the letter. The letter also had no postage stamp, so this letter had obviously couldn't have been delivered through the post. It must have come through some other fashion, but Ana couldn't think of any other way than the senders having delivered it themselves. But the most curious thing about the letter was that it was addressed to the cupboard under the stairs. No one knew about her cupboard except the Dursleys. This thought caused Ana to begin to panic. If the Dursleys had sent the letter as a trick then they obviously knew that she had received it and hidden it, but they hadn't said anything at breakfast, so it couldn't have possibly been the Dursleys. If she had done something wrong they would have punished her for it immediately. Ana went to open the letter when she saw the old-fashioned wax stamp on the back keeping the letter closed. It was a large stylized H with a snake, a raven, a badger, and a lion curled around it. Now more curious than before, Ana opened the letter to expose the most curious letter she had ever seen.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Miss Potter,_

_ We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_ Term begins on September 1__st__. We await your owl by no later than July 31__st__. _

_Yours sincerely, _

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

After having read it, Ana wondered if the letter was actually a prank set up by the Dursleys to see if she had been receiving letters without them knowing. But, then again, the handwriting on the letter was far too sophisticated for any of the Dursleys and they would never spend any money on having someone else write the letter so it had to be from someone outside of the house. It could be from Mrs. Figg, she was the only one in the neighborhood who knew her name. Everyone else in Privet Drive and her elementary school called her Potter. Mrs. Figg was the only one who called her Hadriana, despite the many times Ana tried to get her to call Ana by her nickname. But, Mrs. Figg would never play this kind of trick on her; Mrs. Figg was the only one who truly cared for Ana.

Obviously, since the Dursleys and Mrs. Figg hadn't done it, the letter had to contain some sort of truth. But, magic? Ana thought back on the many strange things that had occurred around her. Like the time that the teachers hair had turned blue when she had tried to get Ana to admit that she was getting questions wrong on purpose. Or the time Ana had suddenly appeared on the roof when she had been running from Dudley and his rat of a friend Piers Polkiss.

'It's possible' thought Ana. But she wasn't certain. Ana obviously couldn't ask the Dursleys, they would never tell her the truth, they thought anything out of the ordinary was freakish. The Dursleys considered the magicians on the telly freaks of nature and abominations. No, they were definitely not the people to ask. Maybe Mrs. Figg would be able to answer her. Mrs. Figg always listened to her dreams about flying motorcycles and flashes of green light with all seriousness. Mrs. Figg also got very excited when Ana had told her about the time she had suddenly appeared on the school roof. Mrs. Figg also told Ana that she expected that Ana would soon get an invitation to a very special school, maybe this Hogwarts was what Mrs. Figg had been talking about. Decided that Ana would talk to Mrs. Figg as soon as possible, Ana hid her letter under the blankets that passed as a mattress in her cupboard.

Days passed and more of the letters came. The first day after having gotten the letter, three came, and the next day five came. Ana was starting to panic, every time the letters came she would slip them into her cupboard, yet as it was she had no where to hide them anymore. That day Ana decided she would have to go see Mrs. Figg no matter what, even if she was supposed to be doing chores, she would go to see Mrs. Figg.

It was just after noon when Ana finally found her chance to escape the Dursley concentration camp. Because to Ana that was what it was, a concentration camp. Sneaking out the front door with her letter safely tucked into the waistband of Dudley's disgustingly old pants that were 10 or 12 sizes too big for her that were held up by a rope, Ana made her way across the street to Mrs. Figg's house.

Ana loved Mrs. Figg, she may not show it very often, but Ana thought that Mrs. Figg was the closest thing she currently had to a mother. Mrs. Figg was an old spinster; Ana estimated her age to be around 55 years of age. Mrs. Figg had 12 cats at any given time and Ana loved them all despite the fact that they sometimes ate the flowers that she planted in her Aunt's garden. Ana didn't mind as long as they steered clear of the lilies, and thankfully they did. Every time the Dursleys left for some kind of family outing, they would leave her at Mrs. Figg and while she was there, Mrs. Figg would always let her read any of the books in her house. Although Mrs. Figg said any of the books, Ana knew that there was some books she had best not try and read. The books that she wasn't allowed to read were locked in Mrs. Figg's study. The lock on the door wasn't very sturdy and if Ana pushed on the door a little it would open. But because Mrs. Figg was always so nice to her Ana decided to respect her privacy and stay out of the study.

Ana knocked on the door and mere moments later Mrs. Figg answered.

"Hadriana what are you doing here? I thought you would be working on that beautiful garden of yours. It is looking to be one of your best. I've always wondered how you get the roses to bloom so beautifully." Asked Mrs. Figg.

"Mrs. Figg, can I come in. I'm not supposed to be out of the house right now." Ana spoke with alarm and nervousness. As Mrs. Figg opened up her door wider to allow Ana to enter, she took a look around outside to see if anyone had noticed and saw a parliament of owls perched on the tree outside of 4 Privet Drive.

"Ana what is this about? I've never seen you so shaken."

"Mrs. Figg, I've been getting these strange letters in the post and they won't stop coming." Ana was beginning to hyperventilate when she thought of what might happen when the Dursleys found out about the letters.

"What kind of letters dear?" By this point Mrs. Figg looked as if she already knew the answer to her own question.

"Their letters from a school called Hogwarts." Ana said cautiously. "These letter say that they are from a magic school." At this time Ana finally caught on to the sheer ridiculousness of that statement. "There is no such thing as magic, right?"

"Oh, Hadriana. There is no need to panic. I can assure you magic is real. Very real." Replied Mrs. Figg as she knelt down to Ana's height of 4'10".

"But how can you know?" Ana asked.

"Because, my mother and father were magical. You have to understand Hadriana that witches and wizards had to separate themselves from the mundane world because of the witch-hunts in the late 19th century. Today they live within the mundane world and yet not. There are many different types of magicals. There are purebloods, who can trace their magic back through their family for generations. There are muggleborns who have recently acquired their magic. The magicals call the non-magicals muggles and so some one born of two non-magical parents and had magic is called a muggleborns. Then there are halfbloods who have a pureblood parent and a muggleborns parent. And finally there are squibs. Squibs are children born of two magical parents, or even one, that have no magic. You see Ana I am a squib. Your mother, Lily, and your Aunt Petunia lived near me when they were little, and from the moment I saw Lily I knew she was magical. Your mother was a muggleborn and your father was a pureblood. Unfortunately an awful man killed them both."

"But, Aunt Petunia said that they died in a car crash. And if all of this is true than why didn't Aunt Petunia know?" Ana was getting very upset by these recent revelations. Why hadn't Mrs. Figg told her earlier, why had her Aunt Petunia lied to her about her parents.

"Oh, Hadriana. Your Aunt knows all of this. You see when your mother received her letter, Petunia was very jealous. Lily was very smart and pretty, and then magical. Petunia was never any of those things and well jealousy can make a woman like her very bitter. Also Hadriana there are some very important things you have to know. The man that killed your parents, he was a mass murderer and had many followers. He and his Death Eaters, as he called them, believe that the muggles and muggleborns are inferior and as such do not deserve to live. They believe that purebloods should be in charge of the world and they strive to wipe out the mundane population. Your mother and father were a part of the resistance, but once you were born, they went into hiding for fear of loosing you. You remember those dreams of the woman screaming and the flash of green light. Those aren't dreams they are memories. That green light is the killing curse. It is a curse that can't be blocked or countered like some others and will kill it's victims instantly. That is how your parents died. But what you need to know most of all before you decide anything is that that night the man also tried to kill you. He turned his wand on you and attempted to use the killing curse on you as well, except somehow it didn't work and instead rebounded on him." As Mrs. Figg was telling this story, Ana could only wonder what this had to do with anything. Yes she would like to know how her parents actually died, but what does it matter that her parents murderer had been unable to kill her like her parents.

"Hadriana, now this is the most important part and I must have your utmost attention. When the curse rebounded, it defeated the man, but did not kill him like many of the magicals believe; rather he remains on this earth as a mere shadow of his former self. But because you defeated him, the majority of the magical community deems you their savior. However, there are also some who fear you for the power you may have that allowed you to deflect the killing curse. That was why you were place with your relatives. The leader of the magical community in England, the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, fears you and had you placed with your Aunt and Uncle. He feels that by placing you here where no one with magic can find or communicate with you until you receive your Hogwarts letters, he will be able to keep you from knowing of your heritage and magic. That is why I am here. Once you got your letter I was to educate you on the traditions and laws of the magical community." Ana was confused now. How could she have possible defeated some kind of evil wizard when she was a baby, it shouldn't be possible.

"Mrs. Figg, how could I have deflect the killing curse if there is no way to defend against it? And why would this Fudge guy be afraid of me? And if you were sent here to look after me then there must be some one you could have told about how I was treated. I thought you just didn't say anything because if you did I would have ended up in foster care and in a potentially worse situation. But if this magical community has their own government then they must have their own way to deal with orphans. Why? Why must I stay with the Dursleys? There must have been anywhere else I could have gone." Ana was beginning to get frustrated; this situation was getting even more confusing by the minute. With every answer that Mrs. Figg provided, several more questions came up to replace the one answered.

"I have reported the Dursleys treatment of you, Hadriana. I have. I brought your situation up to the authorities many times, but the British magical government is far more corrupt than any other. In order to have you removed from the Dursleys care and into another home we would need the minister's approval. But minister Fudge is power hungry; he would do anything to ensure that he is the only one in power. He has made it so that all the other wizards and witches out there that are qualified to be minister are unable to run due to some type of technicality. Every time some one with potential begins to work in the ministry, he buries them in the system. He sees your fame and potential power as a threat and by ensuring that you live with muggles until you enter Hogwarts, he hopes to stunt your magical growth."

"Hadriana we tried and tried to get you away from the Dursleys. Have you ever noticed that I have never gone over to the Dursleys?" At this Ana nodded. At first Ana had thought it strange that Mrs. Figg had never gone over to the Dursleys, but as the years past she had just assumed that Mrs. Figg never came over because of her disgust for the Dursleys. "I have never set foot in that house because I am not able. There is a ward around the house that prevents anyone who knows of magic, except for the Dursleys, from entering the house. That is also the reason that I haven't told you of magic. If you had know about magic and then entered the house, the minister would have been immediately notified and had Aurors come and erase your memory. Professor Dumbledore had a professional warder inspect the wards and try to remove them if he could. But, the wards that were placed around 4 Privet Drive are blood wards; only those who are related to you can remove them. As for any other people who could have taken you in, there were several options, but Fudge made up excuses for all of them. Your parents listed several people to whom you could have gone, but Fudge came up with several small reasons you couldn't be placed there and why the Dursleys were better. Last on the list was the Weasley family. They are very nice people, very poor, yet nice. Arthur Weasley could have been some one great if Fudge hadn't placed him in the department of the misuse of muggle artifacts. It's one of the lowest departments and has the lowest salary, because of this the Weasleys are looked down upon by most of the pureblood houses. Fudge said that the Weasleys couldn't possible take you in because they didn't have sufficient funds, plus they already had six children and one on the way at that point. Fourth on the list was Severus Snape. He was your mother's best friend until they had a falling out when they were 15. Despite their spat, your mother still considered him to her closest friend. But, after their spat he made very bad decisions that lead him to becoming a part of the Death Eaters. Poor Severus, he blames himself for your mother's death you know. Not so much your father's, they were childhood enemies. I wonder how Lily got James to agree to have him listed as a potential guardian. Anyway, because Snape was a known Death Eater despite professor Dumbledore's assurance that he had changed, he was not allowed to take you in. Third on the list was Remus Lupin, one of your fathers oldest friends. Unfortunately, Remus is a known werewolf and Fudge had passed a law mere months previous that stated werewolves were not allowed to be guardians of non-werewolves. Second on the list were Frank and Alice Longbottom. Alice is your godmother and she has a son that is just a few days older than you. Alice and Frank were tortured into insanity by Death Eaters and are unable to even take care of their own son. Finally, your parents' first choice as a guardian in the event of their death was your godfather, Sirius Black. Unfortunately he currently resides in Azkaban Prison." Ana was shocked there were so many people who would have taken her in. She hadn't even known that she had a godmother or godfather.

"Mrs. Figg, why is my godfather in prison? What did he do? Was it something bad?" Ana asked. The thought that her parents could have assigned a potentially dangerous criminal as her godfather caused her to consider the possibility that none of the suggested guardians were suitable, especially the werewolf and the Death Eater.

"Oh dear, no. Sirius is a good boy. A little mischievous, but over all a very nice man. He didn't really do anything wrong. When your parents went into hiding they used something called a Fidelius charm. It is a charm that can hide the knowledge of a location by placing the secret into someone's keeping. Basically only one person will know the secret location unless they tell someone and only the one who holds the secret can tell. Your parents chose to have one of your father's friends called, Peter Pettigrew be the secret keeper. Peter was a rat of a man, and very cowardly. He was also a traitor. He told the secret of your parent's location to the Dark lord, who then killed your parents. Sirius was the only one other than Dumbledore and your parents who knew that Peter was the secret keeper. When Sirius went to visit the night your parents died, he knew instantly that Peter was the traitor and went in search of him. When Sirius had cornered Peter, Peter began to yell and scream accusations at Sirius, calling him a traitor and that he was the one who gave away the secret. Peter then killed 11 muggles and then cut off his own finger and disappeared. Sirius was convicted and thrown into Azkaban prison without a trail. Dumbledore tried to get him a trial. He did all he could to help Sirius, but Fudge refused to budge. He stated that Dumbledore was an old fool and that Sirius was guilty. But the truth is that Sirius is the last heir to the Ancient and Noble house of Black and very rich. If no one takes the role of the head of the house of Black, their entire fortune goes to the minister of magic, just like all the other extinct houses. The only way for your godfather to get a trial is to have a 2/3 vote in the Wizengamot, which is sort of like the muggle parliament." Ana felt better that her godfather wasn't a murderer or a criminal, but now she was getting a little irritated that her life was being meddled in by some two-bit politician who can't deal with a little competition. The sins of this Fudge guy just kept building up, and Ana was getting angrier and angrier.

The air in Mrs. Figg's house got denser and denser as Ana's magic began to react to her rage. Ana's magic began to form a small aura around her. The lights began to flicker and Mrs. Figg started to panic. If Ana were to lose control of her magic her house could be destroyed. Mrs. Figg was a realistic woman. Ana was a powerful young witch; it was obvious to Mrs. Figg that Hecate, also known as Mother Magic, blessed Ana. She could see the signs that her mother had told her about as a young child. Ana was beautiful and powerful like the Hecate blessed always were, but she also bore Hecate's mark on the underside of her arm. There were all signs of the Hecate blessed.

Mrs. Figg's mother had always told her the story of Merlin and Morgana. Merlin as a young man caught the attention of Hecate. He was devout in his prayers to her. He was innovative and creative in his use of her gift. Hecate grew to love Merlin as a son. Hecate then gave Merlin a gift of a powerful magical core on his day of maturity; she also gave him the ability to age slower. As years passed, Merlin became lonely, he was the only wizard or muggle who aged slowly. As he aged slowly and retained his youthful appearance, his peers slowly began to turn grey. Merlin then prayed to Hecate for a companion, an equal, with whom to share his life. Hecate again looked upon Merlin with favor and took the form of a mortal in search of a companion for her precious son. Hecate scoured the globe in search of the perfect mate for Merlin. Unable to find such a woman, Hecate decided to make one. But, she couldn't just bless a mortal woman with such power, so Hecate decided to bear a daughter. But not just any daughter, a daughter of noble blood, a woman worthy of Merlin. Hecate descended to earth yet again in a human visage and visited a royal king named Uther Pendragon. She approached him with a deal, he would beget her with child and she would tell him of his future heir. He would also raise her daughter alongside his son. Uther agreed. When her daughter was born, Hecate descended to earth yet again and brought her daughter to Uther, who had just married Igraine. Hecate gave them her daughter to raise and to name. They called her Morgana LeFey for her enchanting green eyes and fey like appearance. As Morgana grew, she became more powerful and more beautiful. When she was four, her half-brother Arthur was born and she loved him very much though he was not blessed with magic as she was; there was no animosity between them.

Despite Hecate's assurances that he would have a companion if he was patient, Merlin began to despair that he would remain alone for the rest of his extended life. Merlin began to believe that Hecate had forsaken him, that she had cursed him to a life of loneliness. As months turned to years, Merlin became more bitter. Despite this he retained his faith, until the death of his younger brother, the last of his peers. With the death of his brother Merlin forsook Hecate and her teachings. He began to despise all those who had been blessed to be the first in their line to have her gift. He wanted them to feel the same pain he felt. Merlin gathered all his research and began to construct a ritual that would curse all of the first generation magicals. On All Hallows eve of Morgana's 15th year, Merlin performed his ritual that cursed all of the first time magicals. This curse would prevent them from ever being able to connect with Hecate, and through that connection becoming more powerful. Without Hecate's support all magical beings will retain the same magical power they had when they were born. By connecting to Hecate through the rituals and old rites, Hecate was able to slowly expand their magical core, allowing them more power.

When Hecate found out about Merlin's betrayal, she wept for the loss of her favorite son. Once again Hecate descended to earth, there she visited her daughter and told her of her intendeds betrayal. Both mother and daughter mourned the loss of what could have been. After telling her daughter the news, Hecate visited Merlin. There she found him gleefully pleased with his success in his revenge. Hecate approached him as an old crone, and spoke to him of his life. There he told her of the curse he suffered at the hands of Hecate and how he had gotten his revenge. Hecate shook her head, then transformed into the beautiful and powerful maiden she was. She told Merlin of how disappointed she was in him. She told him that if he had merely waited a few more years he would have been presented with her own daughter as his companion. As she spoke those words, Merlin felt such incredible guilt. Acting on his guilt, Merlin's magic spread out in an attempt to somehow right his wrong. But as his magic spread across the land, Merlin could not lift his curse; he could only bind it to the blood of the newly blessed. With such an expenditure of magic a part of the magic that allowed him to retain his youthful appearance lifted revealing his true age. There in the place of the once youthful and handsome man stood a decrepit old man with an extremely long beard. Hecate then gave her son a choice. She could either allow him to die at that very moment, or he could continue on, as a hermit until he was called upon to serve as a kings advisor, never dying until the king he served died. Merlin in all his guilt chose the second option, never knowing that it would be his intended's brother he would serve.

Mrs. Figg was broken from her reverie at the sound of a vase being flung across the room and then shattering. She cautiously approached her pseudo-niece and gently drew her into a comforting hug, which slowly calmed the out of control girl down.

At the feeling of Mrs. Figg's arms wrapped around her, Ana felt her anger dissipate and an overwhelming sadness take its place. Tears began to flow down her face as Ana rested her head against Mrs. Figg's warm shoulder.

"Don't worry sweetheart. We'll get Sirius out of there. As his goddaughter and heir, as well as the heir of the Ancient and Noble house of Potter you can take up all of the seats that the Black and Potter families hold. But first we will have to teach you all the laws and traditions of the wizarding world. We also better reply to your Hogwarts letter before Professor Dumbledore sends more letters." Mrs. Figg crooned to Ana as the young girl cried into her shirt.

"O-Okay." Ana replied as she slowly drew away from Mrs. Figg and wiped away her residual tears. Mrs. Figg looked down at Ana and smiled warmly.

Gently moving away from Ana, Mrs. Figg went in search of some paper and pens, so that Ana could respond to Professor McGonagall. Finally finding some in her office, which she finally unlocked, Mrs. Figg invited Ana to join her in the previously forbidden room.

Handing over the pen and paper, Mrs. Figg moved around the room collecting books, while Ana wrote a reply. Not knowing what to write Ana decided to keep it simple and merely wrote:

_Dear Professor McGonagall,_

_I was quite surprised to receive your letter. At first I was skeptical about your claim to be a school of magic, however after having visited with my neighbor Mrs. Figg, who has told me of her status as a squib, I have decided to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Mrs. Figg has told me of the circumstances of my placement with the Dursley family and has offered to teach me all that I need to know of the wizarding world in order to thrive in the new environment. If you can think of anything else that I might need to know before my debut into the magical community please contact me through Mrs. Figg. _

_Sincerely,_

_Hadriana Eris Potter_

_P.S. I have received my acceptance letter, you can now stop sending them, I have far more than I need._

Ana folded her letter and put it in an envelope that Mrs. Figg provided for her while she had been concentrating on the letter. After having addressed the letter and turned to Mrs. Figg and asked, "Now that I have written the letter, how am I supposed to send it out?"

Mrs. Figg chuckled silently and gestured for Ana to follow her. Mrs. Figg led her to the front room through which Ana had arrived and motioned for Ana to open the door. Having done so, Ana once again looked toward Mrs. Figg.

"Do you see those owls perched on the tree outside of your relatives house? Call one over." Explained Mrs. Figg. Despite her skepticism, Ana did as Mrs. Figg asked. Ana looked over at the owls and looked over them and met the eyes of an owl with brown wings, a white belly and white spectacle like eye markings. Ana beckoned to the owl, using her arm as a perch for him to land on. When it came over Mrs. Figg told her to give the letter to the owl. It took the letter gently in its beak and took off flying. As Ana watched the owl take off, she smiled. Finally she would be able to get away from the Dursleys, she was free.

It had been almost 3 months since Ana had found out about the wizarding world and she had come a long way from that little orphan girl. Though her appearance hadn't changed much, she looked a completely different person. After having visited the magical shopping district in Diagon Alley, Ana was now dressed in clothes that she felt she belonged in. Ana now had a closet filled with full-length acromantula silk pleated skirts that flowed in the wind. To go with the beautiful skirts were several elegant silk blouses in a multitude of colors and styles. To complete these outfits were delicate dragon skin gloves, as is becoming of a young lady of her station. Along with her new wardrobe, Ana sported a new attitude. Gone was the meek slave girl and in her place stood a proper pureblood young lady.

Ana had spent the entirety of the three months studying the traditions and laws of the wizarding world. She had learnt how to properly greet Lords and Ladies of Ancient and Noble houses, as well as those who were not. She learnt how a proper Lady was to act and how she was supposed to dress. Mrs. Figg had made sure that no matter what company she was in, she would know how to act. It had been grueling work to learn the wizarding etiquette as well as memorizing all of the Lords and Ladies, but Ana couldn't help but think that it would be worth it if she would be able to get her godfather back and finally be rid of the Dursleys.

Although Ana had enjoyed learning all of the etiquette and law, her favorite lessons were of the old ways. Mrs. Figg had told Ana the story of Merlin and Morgana and how the muggleborns had been disconnected from Hecate. Though many thought that the muggleborns were completely cut of from Mother Magic, muggleborns were still able to connect with her. True they were cursed, but in Merlin repentance he had confined the curse to their blood only. So the muggleborns could participate in many of the rituals to connect with Hecate, except the blood rituals. But because the muggleborns believed they couldn't connect with Mother Magic, they began to resent the purebloods; this was how the prejudices began. Mrs. Figg told Ana of how after several centuries of this resentment the muggleborns had rallied together to take over the ministry of magic that was built after Merlin and Morgana's death. Once they had taken over the magical community, they had banned the old ways in order to even the playing field. After the banning a terrible massacre had occurred. Pureblood families who refused to abide by the laws had been slaughtered. Many pureblood families had then stopped practicing the old ways. Very few families were able to hide their practices and continue in their prayers to Hecate. After several centuries very few families remained that still knew of the old ways, Mrs. Figg's family being one of the few who continued to practice. But because Mrs. Figg had no magic and she was the last of her family, she had passed on her family Grimoire to Ana.

After having learned all of this, when Ana had gone to Gringotts with Mrs. Figg she had claimed her inheritance of the Ladyship of both the Potter and Black families. By doing this she was not only able to claim their seats on the Wizengamot, but she would also be able to access the family vaults, rather than just her trust vault. When Ana entered the Black family vault she had spotted several curious items, but Mrs. Figg had told her how some of the items were cursed. Searching the vault, Ana found a Black family tapestry. On it she found her godfather. This is the first time Ana remembers seeing her godfather. To Ana, Sirius looked like a very fun loving man, she couldn't wait to meet him and be able to live with him as she was meant to. After leaving the Black family vault with the Ladyship ring and the family tapestry, the two women and a goblin headed for the Potter family vault. There she found piles of gold, silver, and bronze coins. Just a few days earlier, Mrs. Figg had explained the currency to Ana and so she knew the value of each coin and their conversion rate to pounds. Merely taking a glance at the expanse of the vault, Ana could tell that she was extremely rich and would never be able to spend all the money in the vault even if she tried. Among the piles of money were many different artifacts. There were diamond, ruby, emerald, and sapphire studded necklaces, some more extravagant than others. There were dressers filled to the brim with bracelets, rings and earrings all sorted neatly. At the back of the vault there was a wall covered in all kinds of weapons: swords, spears, bows and arrows, daggers, and several other weapons she couldn't identify. Along another wall of the vault were shelves and shelves of books. Ana was delighted at the sight. The goblin that had escorted Ana and Mrs. Figg to her vaults had pointed out a few trunks that had belonged to Ana's parents that had undetectable extension charms on them, as well as automatic shrinking charms. These trunks would be able to hold the entire contents of the vault if Ana so wished and she would be able to shrink it and unshrink it without magic. While emptying the trunks of her parents clothing and other extraneous items, Ana came across a beautiful charm bracelet that had belonged to her mother. In fact Mrs. Figg confirmed that it had belonged to her mother, it was given to her my Ana's father on their one-year anniversary. The bracelet held 12 charms each with a significance privy to her parents and their friends only. There was a stag, a wolf, a paw print, a lily, a cauldron, a castle, a heart, a tarnished rat, a pentacle, a unicorn, a dragon, and a phoenix. Ana decided to keep it along with a fine-toothed decorative comb. The comb was made out of red tinted silver and its handle depicted a sleeping lion being protected by a snake. She took those items along with all the books as well as some of the pictures of her mum and dad. Finally she gathered a small leather pouch of gold coins and Mrs. Figg and Ana left to finish their shopping.

Back at Mrs. Figg's house, Ana discovered that one of the books that she had taken from the potter vault had been the family Grimoire, long forgotten among the many other texts in languages lost. There she learnt of the many rituals and traditions of connecting with Mother Magic. There was one ritual that told of combs soaked in their owner's blood. These combs when used allowed the user to cleanse themselves of impurities and receive the word of Hecate. When Ana first heard of this after having only learnt of Merlin, she decided to try it out with the new comb which she had gotten from her family vault. Ana had slit her palm and poured her blood into a bowl then set the comb in it to soak. That night she retrieved the comb. The bowl in which the comb had soaked in blood, was now empty of the crimson liquid and all that remained was the delicate comb that was now held a redder tint than before. Silently Ana picked up the comb and walked over to the window looking out onto Privet drive. There, bathed in the moonlight, Ana began to drag the beautiful comb through her hair. After the first stroke, Ana could already feel all her hurt and anger drain away. Ana felt at peace with all the suffering that she had been subjected to and no longer bore ill will toward her relatives. After a few more strokes, Ana could feel gentle warmth fill her core. She felt happiness that was not her own. The warmth then spread out to encompass her completely in its embrace. This was it Ana thought, this must be Hecate.

Gently as if born by a distant breeze Ana heard a woman whisper in her ear. "Yes child it is I. How long I have waited for the day you would be able to hear my voice. My daughter"

"Hecate? You've waited for me? But why I'm nothing special?" Ana inquired.

"My child, you are nothing if not special. I have spoken to the Fates, who told me of your coming. They told me of a daughter not my own who would bear my mark and bring about a new age for the sons and daughters of magic. They told me many things of you, some of which you are not yet ready to hear. Even if you were not special, I would still love you, as I love all my children." The voice spoke in soothing tones that belied the woman's compassion and love for Ana. Hecate wrapped her magic around Ana even tighter and allowed Ana to soak in her love. Soon it was time for Hecate to leave.

"I must go now child, but I will always be here for you. Every ritual written in both the Potter and Figg Grimoires will call to my magic. If you use them my magic and love will come to you and become your companion when you need it. Take care my child" with a parting brush of warmth, the surrounding magic slowly dissipated leaving Ana feeling more content than she had felt in a long time.

Now after several more weeks of study, Ana was finally ready to enter into the Wizengamot and demand a trial for her godfather. Dressed in an elegant emerald green cinch-waisted blouse and a floor-length black skirt with white dragon skin gloves, Ana got ready to leave for the ministry. Ana took out some of her families emerald earrings and her mother's charm bracelet that she wore at all times and pulled her hair into a tastefully messy bun held up by her family comb. After strapping on her low classy black heels, Ana was finally ready.


End file.
